TEHRAN, Dec 8_At least 35 people have died in a factory fire in India's capital New Delhi, with the toll still expected to rise, police told AFP Sunday.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club(YJC)_The blaze broke out in the early hours in the city's old quarter, whose narrow and congested lanes are lined with many small manufacturing and storage units.
"We... have since rescued at least 50 people," Sunil Choudhary, New Delhi's deputy chief fire officer, told AFP.
They were "laborers and factory workers sleeping inside this four- or five-storied building," he said, adding that the fire had been extinguished but rescue operations were ongoing.
A senior Delhi police official said eight or nine people were carried out later, bringing the overall number rescued to at least 58.
Fire officials said it was very difficult to access the dark, poorly lit premises in the commercial hub of Sadar Bazar.
Local news channels aired footage of firemen carrying people out of the narrow lanes to nearby emergency vehicles.
The building was filled with school bags and packing material, fire officials said, but cautioned they were still unsure about the cause of the blaze.
"All the rescued persons were rushed to the nearby local hospitals, which have already confirmed 35 deaths. Some of the others are also in a serious state," Sadar Bazar's assistant commissioner of police told.
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